SDCC '10

Some tickets were available for Sunday --aka Brain-dead Zombie Day -- when last we checked! But hurry!

Scott Pilgrim promo fever is hitting 105˚ in advance of next week's San Diego Comic-Con, sure to be known in future years as "The Scott Pilgrim One." To wit, various Twitter feeds have been capturing the progress of a giant Scott Pilgrim banner being erected over the Hilton Bayfront hotel. Yowsa. Scott PIlgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley has a thorough list of events he's involved with, including his midnight signing appearance in Toronto, where it all began. (We'll have more details on midnight events in a few days.)

At least one element that has made Comic-Con hell on earth in recent years has ended, namely the stampede each day to get those oversized walking billboard bags that Warner Brothers gives away each day. Brilliant from a marketing standpoint but functionally useless -- unless it's to make an emergency dress or shelter -- the bags were nonetheless highly sought after by congoers, resulting in mobs of people milling around the booth waiting for the distribution hours, clogging aisles and making posing with Stromtropper Elvis a real hassle. But no more! The bags are now part of the OFFICIAL CON GIVEAWAYS! with 11 different designs; one will be given to each con-goer. Don't like the one you got? Imagine the resulting swapping and trading! This could be a great way to make to make friends. Official pr below, with links to many other con-related sites.

Top Cow sent out this image in reference to some mysterious new project. Will more be revealed at Comic-Con? I wonder...

"Sci-fi visionaries and Hollywood elite will enjoy music, food, and cocktails while entertainment luminaries enjoy views of downtown San Diego." -- from PR the this year's Syfy EW party, which we can't get into and neither can you. Because, presumably, entertainment luminaries just don't eat or drink, which is how they stay so photogenic. But they don't like music either. They just like staring out at the view.

The Hero Initiative charity which provides assistance to creators in need of financial aid has announced their Comic-Con schedule and promotions, including an auction to have cocktails with comics luminaries such as Joe Quesada, and a variant edition of the Overstreet Price Guide. Details below:

The expected tsunami of San Diego news is well under way, and we'll start our annual mega posting tomorrow. In the meantime apologies for the erratic Beat posting schedule of late due to conflicting deadlines on a variety of fronts; juggling all this stuff seems to take as much time as getting it accomplished. Despite all the problems, I hope you can stick with me. Of course, I'll be in San Diego to report on as much of it as one human possibly can -- we'll have a few stringers and correspondents on the scene as well and hopefully we can dig a little into the behind the scenes of the hype and hoopla.

Looking at the Sunday Programming for each year's San Diego always makes us wistful, as we imagine the brain-blasted exhaustion we'll be experiencing as...

It's here! Some highlights below: 10:00-11:00 Spotlight on Carla Speed McNeil— Comic-Con special guest Carla Speed McNeil is best known for her creator-owned title Finder....

As the SD10 schedule drifts out, the big movie panels are shaping up, and one of the biggest comic book movies at this year's...

It's up! Quick highlights:  10:00-11:00 Publishing Comics— Four publishers—Matt Gagnon (BOOM!), Gary Groth (Fantagraphics), Dallas Middaugh (Del Rey Manga), and Mark Siegel (First Second Books) --...

Panels on imprint, their Henson and Lucid projects and All Ages comics highlight the Archaia panels, and guests include Brian Froud and David Petersen.